In his latest roundup of the EuroPress, Denis Boyles notes the convienient disappearance of that embarrassing Gilligan story.
In London, a parliamentary committee has reported that Andrew Gilligan and the BBC lied when they broadcast the allegation that the Blair government had “sexed up” its claims of Iraqi threats in an effort to convince Britons to go to war. The BBC had staked its reputation on the accuracy of that claim, yet somehow, in the fog of the British press, exemplified by this report in the Guardian, the committee’s findings have morphed from an obvious indictment of the BBC into yet another Blair blunder, with defense chief Geoff Hoon accused of being “potentially misleading” (as opposed to the BBC, which was actually and persistently misleading) and once again left hanging limply in the wind. Poor Hoon could moonlight as an American flag in Paris and get more respect.
In a similar vein, Andrew Sullivan mentions a couple of “Baathist Broadcasting Corporation” stinkbombs.
The Guardian gives a platform to former BBC men to provide support for Gilligan & the BBC
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/kelly/story/0,13747,1040215,00.html
Both Liddle & Bell are prepared to dismiss Gilligan’s allegations against the government as a mere slip of the tongue.
Even if we are expected to believe that so serious an allegation can just slip out, it doesn’t explain why the BBC management were prepared to go to the trenches in support of the slip.
Susan Watts (unlike Gilligan, a proper journalist) was rightly disgusted by the Beeb’s attempts to make everyone parrot Gilligan’s line.
I see John “Mein” Kampfner has a new book out, in which he claims Jack Straw pleaded with Big Tony not to go to war…we know this is true, because Kampfner is not the kind of journo who would believe only those things which he wants to believe.
A week ago the Scotsman reported that
Gilligan would be investigated for lying to the Defence Committee. Haven’t seen the story on the BBC yet !
http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=988422003